The present invention relates to a lubricant supply system for continuously and automatically lubricating machine parts, especially bearings, comprising a housing connectable to the machine to be lubricated in which a lubricant reservoir and a device for a metered supply of the lubricant are arranged.
Lubricant supply systems of the aforementioned kind are known in a plurality of embodiments in the prior art. German patent application DE-A1 195 44 692 discloses, for example, a lubricant supply system with electromotor-driven supply of lubricant to a machine. This lubricant supply system is used to lubricate machine or device parts which are difficult to access or very remote or which are of a design requiring shutdown of the machine for lubrication. In order to provide for a continuous lubrication of machine or device parts, the lubricant supply systems of the aforementioned kind are connected to the machines to be lubricated. Lubricant is then supplied in a metered amount to the machine by a drive system that is based on a gas generator or an electromotor. Depending upon the adjusted amount to be supplied, the lubricant reservoir of a lubricant supply system can, for example, ensure continuous lubrication for up to one year. In addition to a fixed adjustment of a single metering program, lubricant supply systems are also known in practice which can be set to an alternative lubrication program by adjusting the gear ratio. A disadvantage of such known lubricant supply systems is that, for adjusting the system to a different lubricant supply program, the lubricant supply system must be demounted and manually adjusted. For this purpose, depending upon the type of machine, the machine must be shut down or the lubrication process must be interrupted for a certain amount of time.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to design a lubricant supply system of the aforementioned kind such that a flexible adjustment to different lubricant supply systems is possible without requiring a machine shutdown, etc.